Jaime Botelho
EDC 102-H
9/18/09 The first school that I ever went to was a traditional Catholic elementary school. I attended this school from preschool up until fourth grade and this was the type of school where everyone knew everyone in their grade. We did not have any cliques. I just hung out with the people I knew best. All of the teachers were great; I never had any teacher that I did not like in all of my six years at this school. Overall this school was my safety net; it was where I learned how to write my name, recite the alphabet, write cursive and where I learned all of the basic skills I needed for the rest of my years in school.
My elementary school was where my education began and it is also where I learned that sometimes decisions are made for you and there is nothing you can do about it. This lesson was taught to me when I was in fourth grade at this school. Everyone was talking about the fifth grade and how great it was going to be. I chimed in here and there saying how much fun field day would be and how we would be the oldest in the school. I went home that day all excited about my next year at this school, but little did I know there would not be a fifth year. My mom had told me that we could not afford for me to go another year and that I would be enrolled in public school next year. This is the moment when I realized there was nothing I could do to stop this.
I went to school the next day upset because I knew that it was one of my last days with all of my friends. One of my teachers saw that I was upset and asked me what was wrong. I told her what my mom had told me the night before and she just kept nodding her head as if she understood it all. It was then that I looked at her and asked her if she was agreeing with my mom’s decision. She told me that she knew where my parents were coming from because they were just preparing for my future education. I asked her what she meant by that and she explained to me that a college education is a lot of money and that if I went to public school my parents could save more money for me. My teacher is the one who put everything in perspective for me and made me see that my parents were making this decision for me because in the end I would benefit more from going to a public school.
Overall this experience has taught me that throughout life there are times when one cannot control what happens to them. My teacher showed me that my parents’ reason for transferring me to a different school; it took time for me to finally agree with the decision they made for me. If they had not taken me out of Catholic school, I probably would not be here at URI. The experience that I had at this school stays with me and it will point me in the right direction to make decisions for my own children when the time comes for me to be a parent.
EDC 102-H
9/18/09
The first school that I ever went to was a traditional Catholic elementary school. I attended this school from preschool up until fourth grade and this was the type of school where everyone knew everyone in their grade. We did not have any cliques. I just hung out with the people I knew best. All of the teachers were great; I never had any teacher that I did not like in all of my six years at this school. Overall this school was my safety net; it was where I learned how to write my name, recite the alphabet, write cursive and where I learned all of the basic skills I needed for the rest of my years in school.
My elementary school was where my education began and it is also where I learned that sometimes decisions are made for you and there is nothing you can do about it. This lesson was taught to me when I was in fourth grade at this school. Everyone was talking about the fifth grade and how great it was going to be. I chimed in here and there saying how much fun field day would be and how we would be the oldest in the school. I went home that day all excited about my next year at this school, but little did I know there would not be a fifth year. My mom had told me that we could not afford for me to go another year and that I would be enrolled in public school next year. This is the moment when I realized there was nothing I could do to stop this.
I went to school the next day upset because I knew that it was one of my last days with all of my friends. One of my teachers saw that I was upset and asked me what was wrong. I told her what my mom had told me the night before and she just kept nodding her head as if she understood it all. It was then that I looked at her and asked her if she was agreeing with my mom’s decision. She told me that she knew where my parents were coming from because they were just preparing for my future education. I asked her what she meant by that and she explained to me that a college education is a lot of money and that if I went to public school my parents could save more money for me. My teacher is the one who put everything in perspective for me and made me see that my parents were making this decision for me because in the end I would benefit more from going to a public school.
Overall this experience has taught me that throughout life there are times when one cannot control what happens to them. My teacher showed me that my parents’ reason for transferring me to a different school; it took time for me to finally agree with the decision they made for me. If they had not taken me out of Catholic school, I probably would not be here at URI. The experience that I had at this school stays with me and it will point me in the right direction to make decisions for my own children when the time comes for me to be a parent.